Evaluation
by Madam'zelleGiry
Summary: Before she went to Hogwarts, Pansy Parkinson was a sweet, shy little eleven year old. But when she meets Draco Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express, she's forced to make a choice. Will she abandon her own nature for the sake of a friend?


Written for Hogwarts Online II homework assigned by Professor Kara (AKA Love From A Muggle)  
>Character: Pansy Parkinson<br>Prompts: scared, alone  
>Quote: "I just want someone who understands me; a friend is all I'm asking for. Is that too hard to ask?"<p>

Eleven-year-old Pansy Parkinson looked nervously over her shoulder at the retreating backs of her mum and dad. She clutched the handle of her luggage trolley with a white knuckled death grip and took a deep breath, taking in the general appearance of platform 9 ¾. This was the first time she had ever been on the platform; it was nothing like she had expected. The Hogwarts Express steamed and hissed impatiently as the last of the students boarded her coaches. Scores of harassed and frazzled parents were scampering over the platform, offering last minute instructions and messages of love to their children who were either on the train or in the process of boarding.

Pansy couldn't believe that these children were shunning the love of their parents; she had never had enough love to shun. It wasn't that her parents didn't love her because she knew in her heart that they really did. But they were always so busy with their jobs at the Ministry that she never got to see them. Her father held a high position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and her mother was editor for the _Daily Prophet_. They told her that she should be proud to have such important parents. And she was. But she would have been happier if they had time to stay home with her instead of always being at work. In fact, she saw them so infrequently that she counted herself lucky that they had actually taken the time to bring her to the platform for her first day at Hogwarts, even though they only had time to drop her off inside the barrier and left from there. Something about her mum needing to get to Diagon Alley to catch a story about a book signing at Flourish and Blots. There was nothing her mum liked more than a good story; Pansy sometimes thought that her mum would be happier if she was a simple reporter instead of holding a position of high prestige in the paper. But being a reporter didn't pay as well as being an editor. So her mum had to make do with catching the occasional 'red hot' bit of news and leaving the dirty work that she loved to her employees.

"Excuse me!" The sound of a female voice reached her ears and cut through her thoughts like a sharp knife through soft butter. She jumped, whirling about to find the source of the voice. The speaker was apparently a blonde woman standing next to a blonde man who was presumably her husband. They both wore a sneer that told her that the very fact of her existence displeased them, though she suspected that there was little she could do to convince them otherwise. "Get your things onto the train. It'll be leaving soon and the train won't wait for you if you just stand there dawdling."

Pansy blushed, embarrassed that she had completely forgotten to do so, and hurried towards the baggage car. The woman was correct; it was nearly time for the train to depart and she in no position that even remotely resembled readiness. As she began to pick up the pace, she tripped over her own feet, which caused the trolley to jerk violently and her cat to show her displeasure with an annoyed hiss.

"Sorry," she whispered fretfully as she began to load her luggage into the baggage car with fingers that were shaking ever so slightly. The midnight black cat shot her a look of intense displeasure as she gave a great stretch and yawned luxuriously inside of his carrier. Pansy had to sigh; even her cat seemed to be against her now. Although she couldn't really blame him for snipping at her, poor darling. Wiggins, as she had affectionately christened him when she was a small child, had been suffering neglect for the past few days as she busily prepared for her first year at Hogwarts.

Being an only child, she didn't have to undergo the same fate as students who had older siblings to tease them mercilessly before their first year. However, even though these same students would think her crazy for saying so, she would have traded most of her earthly possessions for a sister or brother to keep her company. She had long since discovered that it was difficult to convince children from big families of the difficulties that an only child faced every day. Loneliness was undoubtedly the most painful of these trials. Still, being an only child took skill and she was an expert. And she was lucky; she had both of her parents, even if she only saw them occasionally. Most of the time she lived with her gran, who had moved into their house some years ago. But her gran was so old and frail that she was left to her own devices for the most part. And that suited her just fine, really.

Now that her luggage was safely stowed, she hurried up into the nearest car and hugged Wiggins to her chest. There was no way that she would be venturing into that train by herself, no matter what Wiggins had to say about it. And the cat showed his displeasure by hissing at her as her grip on his chest tightened with the anxiety of getting onboard. She had never been very good at making friends; that was one of the reasons why she was always so lonely. Not only did was she without siblings, but she was without friends as well. This fact had been noticed by her parents, who had told her to make a sincere effort to become friends with the members of her House. Both of her parents had been Ravenclaws, a trait that ran in the family. Briefly, she allowed herself to wonder if she would be able to join the ranks of this House. But she dismissed the thought altogether. She had never been brainy like her mum and dad. She would count herself lucky if Hufflepuff would accept her as she was.

She began making her way up the hallway, peeking into each compartment and searching for a face that would invite her in. She knew that this was no way to make friends but she was strapped for ideas. Her lack of courage refused to allow her to make the first move. So much for Gryffindor. Students of all ages and descriptions, mostly dressed in Muggle street clothes, talked and laughed amongst themselves. But, try as she might, she could not get any of them to look up at her and even if they did, they quickly dropped their gaze and went on with their conversation. If she could have sighed, she would have. But the lump of fear in her throat made it impossible. She swallowed hard against the feeling; she had yet to find a compartment that even had somewhere for her to sit, let **alone** make a friend. Why did she always have to chicken out at these crucial moments? Her mum was always saying that if she wasn't so **scared** of everyone around her than she could be extremely popular. But popularity wasn't exactly what she was going for.

"I just want someone who understands me; a friend is all I'm asking for. Is that too hard to ask?" She whispered to Wiggins, who made no comment.

Finally, she was able to spot an empty seat and she decided to go in before she could change her mind. "Excuse me, is that seat taken?" she asked, silently mortified as her voice seemed to betray her shyness.

The occupants of the tiny compartment, three young boys who looked about her age, looked up as she entered. The tallest of the three shrugged and shook his white blonde hair out of his eyes. "Sure. Sit down. We don't mind, do we?" His companions echoed his shrug and one coughed.

"Thanks," Pansy sat down quietly by the window, still hugging her cat to her chest. "I'm Pansy, by the way. Pansy Parkinson."

"Draco Malfoy." The blonde boy extended his hand and she shook it gratefully. This seemed to be going better than she had hoped. "This is Crabbe and that's Goyle." The other two boys grunted, presumably by way of 'hello'.

"Hi," she said, settling back into her chair. "Nice to meet you."

Draco nodded absently, apparently considering a thought that had just come to him. "Parkinson…you wouldn't by any chance be related to Astoria Parkinson on the _Prophet_, would you?"

"She's my mum."

"I thought so. What about your dad? Is he a wizard?"

"Yes, he works at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Are you a pure blood then?"

"No, my dad was a Muggle before he came to Hogwarts."

Draco made an indignant face. "I'd keep that under my hat if I were you." He said wisely. "They don't take kindly to half bloods at Hogwarts."

"Don't they?" she asked nervously. No one had told her that.

"Well, the correct people don't. Most of us are purebloods, like me. The Malfoys are a very old pureblood family, you know."

"Oh," Pansy didn't know what else to say to that so she decided that it would be best to change the subject. "What House do you want to be in?" she asked casually.

"You're joking aren't you?" he asked incredulously. "Slytherin, of course. Isn't that were you want to be?"

"I don't know if I have a chance to be in Slytherin." She admitted. "Both my mum and dad were Ravenclaws."

"Well my parents were Slytherins. And you could be too. Your parents don't dictate your House. I'm sure that you'll be a Slytherin with us. Don't you think so?" He elbowed Crabbe who grunted in what she could only assume was an affirmative manner.

"That's a relief." She said, trying to sound impressive. "I'd much rather be a Slytherin than anything else." That wasn't necessarily true but she was afraid to admit that she was fairly certain that she was destined to be a Hufflepuff.

"Well, stick with us and you'll be just fine." Draco puffed his chest out proudly and she offered him a smile. His offer sounded just fine to her.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Pansy trembled in her brand new Hogwarts robes as she stood in the mob of First Years in the Great Hall. They were all waiting to be sorted and they were all praying that it would be over soon, trying to avoid the stares of the older students. The fact that they all looked hungry was not reassuring. She could barely hear the voice of Professor McGonagall, the teacher who held the scroll with all of their names, as she silently wondered what House she would join. One by one, the students took their turn under the Sorting Hat that would be the only thing that decided their destiny for the next seven years.

She was glad that her name was late in the alphabet; it gave her time to think. She wondered what would happen under the hat. Would she be put in Hufflepuff like she had originally thought? Was it even remotely possible that she would become a Slytherin like the boy on the train? Draco had been the only one who had been willing to accept her as a friend, yet she felt certain that his friendship offer would be snatched away if she became anything except a Slytherin. It was not comforting. She wanted the friendship of this strange pureblood boy no matter what. _Oh, please let me be in Slytherin._

"Malfoy, Draco." Professor McGonagall's voice rang out over the Great Hall. It took less than a second for the hat to make a decision. Draco slid down off of the stool and took his place at the Slytherin table, looking expectantly at her. She offered him a smile as the teacher continued calling out names.

"Parkinson, Pansy." This was it. This was her turn. The moment that would decide her destiny. She swallowed hard as she slowly slid onto the stool and cringed slightly as Professor McGonagall let the hat drop onto her head.

"_Hmmm…" _The hat considered. _"A Parkinson. I remember your parents. Very fine Ravenclaws, both of them. But I don't suppose that you would fit in Ravenclaw, now would you?"_

_No. _She thought desperately. _What about Slytherin?_

"_Slytherin? Are you sure? I was thinking more along the lines of Hufflepuff."_

She almost groaned aloud. _Not Hufflepuff, please. Please let me be a Slytherin. _

"_You might have potential as a Slytherin. But are you sure that's what you really want? You'd be an excellent Hufflepuff. I'm certain of it."_

_Please no. Please. _She was desperate now.

"_Well…If you are absolutely certain. I agree. I'll put you in _SLYTHERIN!"

Pansy exhaled the breath that she hadn't known she was holding as she slid off of the stool to join Draco at the Slytherin table.

"I told you." He said with a smile. "You'll make a great Slytherin."

"Thanks." At that moment, she knew that she had made an important step in her life. She had been accepted by at least one Slytherin and one was enough for her. All she hoped was that she would be able to keep this friendship. She would do anything that it took to remain accepted by this group of guys. Anything.


End file.
